Plunderbund Action: Tell Your Rep To Oppose The Petland Bill

Yesterday, a House committee held the first of two hearings this week on the controversial measure to block local ordinances regarding the sale of puppies from commercial breeders. As we noted before, the bill represents erodes local control, undoing the hard work of advocates and elected officials who have gotten laws passed in Toledo and Grove City, and contains a loophole to permit the sale from self-defined “hobby breeders,” a category not subject to oversight by the state under the bill.

Bill sponsor Senator Bob Peterson defended the loophole, saying: “This was the closest we could get” in compromise talks with Petland, the driving force behind the bill. In other words, Peterson has given the industry veto power over his legislation, but is confident those same special interests will do a great job of policing themselves.

There is no vote scheduled tomorrow, meaning the bill will have at least one more hearing before heading to the full Senate and ultimately Governor Kasich, so there’s still time to contact your Representative.

We’ve made it super easy to send an email to your Representative: go to our action page, enter your address and we’ll figure out where it should go. And it’s already working. Check out this exchange from yesterday’s hearing:

Asked whether any “animal welfare” groups were in support, Sen. Peterson said the Ohio Farm Bureau, American Kennel Club and Sportsmen’s Alliance backed the measure.

As to whether it had opponents, he said, “If you check your email box I’m sure you will find groups who are opposed to the bill.”